Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA 

Guest - Susan Cridland – Customer Experience – RTA 

Host: In this episode, we are talking about renting with others, including share housing, subletting, rooming accommodation, and boarding. Today, we're joined by the RTA's Susan Cridland. Welcome, Susan.

Guest: Thank you for having me.

Host: Now, can you tell us about your role at the RTA and what you do?

Guest: Yeah, certainly. So, my role is acting manager in our customer Contact Centre. I'm responsible for a number of operations, but mostly helping to look after our teams who help our customers.

Host: Wonderful. So, Susan, let's start with share housing. What is a share house?

Guest: A share house arrangement is a general tenancy agreement between a property manager or owner and two or more tenants. These arrangements are commonly used for properties such as houses, units, apartments and townhouses.

In a share house arrangement, the property manager or owner is still responsible for managing all aspects of the tenancy and tenants are referred to as co-tenants and can either be jointly or individually liable for rent and the bond. All parties are covered under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, which we'll refer to as the Act from here on.

Host: Right. Now, I don't know about you, Susan, but I tend to think of people renting for the first time or students living in share houses. Is that a fair assumption?

Guest: Yeah, for young people leaving home, including students, share housing is definitely still a popular option. But the 2021 census data also showed that more young people were living at home for longer.

And we've also seen media reports that more people in their 40s, 50s and 60s are now choosing share housing, both due to the cost of living and to connect with others. So share housing is actually a rental option that's pursued by people of all ages.

Host: Yeah, so it's a little bit different than I thought. So how would I go about finding a share house?

Guest: I guess you've got two main options. If you have a group of people that you already know that you want to live with, then you can look at rental properties together and try to find one that you're all happy with. The RTA has information to help when choosing a rental property.

The other option is to find an existing share house that's looking for a new tenant. There are several websites that list vacant rooms and share houses. Whatever your approach, it's really important to look out for rental scams. Inspect a property in person if you can, and don't pay any money until you've received a written agreement.

Host: That's a good reminder. Now, with that first option, I guess everyone would be on the same tenancy agreement because they're moving in at the same time. How do things work when someone moves into an existing share house?

Guest: That's a great question. So if it's a general tenancy agreement with a fixed term, there are a couple of scenarios that can occur.

So firstly, an existing tenant may want to move out before the end date, maybe halfway through the agreement, and the other tenants will want to look to replace them.

Secondly, when the end date of a tenancy is approaching, some tenants may want to stay and renew the agreement, while other tenants may want to move out. The tenants that stay may want to find new tenants to replace those that leave.

In either situation, the tenants need to request permission from the property manager or owner to change tenants. Once a change is approved, the tenants can complete a Change of bond contributors (Form 6) with the new tenant's details and send it to the RTA. The new tenant should pay their share of their bond to the other tenants or to the tenant who is leaving. The process is a little bit different if a subletting arrangement is in place.

Host: Right. Now, I've heard about subletting arrangements. Can you tell us more about those and how they differ from that share house agreement?

Guest: Of course. So a sublet arrangement is a general tenancy agreement between what's referred to as a head tenant and then what's referred to as a sub tenant. So this occurs when a tenant in an existing tenancy agreement has permission from the property manager or owner to rent part or all of the property to other tenants. Everyone involved in a sublet agreement usually is covered by the Act.

The head tenant assumes the same responsibilities as a property manager or owner. So they're required to provide subtenants with a written tenancy agreement, an entry condition report, the RTA's Pocket guide for tenants, houses and units (Form 17A), and a receipt of any rental bond monies that are paid. A head tenant also needs to lodge any bond monies with the RTA within 10 days.

A sublet may include co-tenants as well as sub-tenants, depending on what's been agreed to with the head tenant. If a sub-tenant wants to move out and finds a new sub-tenant to replace them, they need approval from the head tenant.

Host: Now, you mentioned a general tenancy agreement applying to those examples of share housing and subletting. What should people look out for in the agreement?

Guest: If there's a general tenancy agreement in place, make sure you're clear on who is listed as a tenant on the tenancy agreement with you, because you'll be sharing the rights and responsibilities of the tenancies with them. This also means that if they damage something or they don't pay the rent, you could be responsible.

Host: Now, are there any red flags people should look out for when share housing?

Guest: Well, we talked about when someone moves out earlier. So I guess in that example, I was thinking of the ideal scenario where all the tenants get on well, communicate with each other and manage the change in tenancy so that there's no shortfall in the rent. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen like that.

If a tenant does move out and they stop paying rent and they can't be contacted, then the remaining tenants are going to have to make up the difference. And that's because rent is due from the household, not from the individual tenants. The RTA is also unable to help resolve rent issues between tenants.

Hopefully, in that situation, the remaining tenants can find a new housemate quickly and get the property manager or owner's approval for them to move in. That way, they're only going to be paying more rent for a short period.

Host: Yeah, and I guess it comes back to, you know, everyone sharing the rights and responsibilities of the tenancy, right?

Guest: Exactly. And the other thing that can come up is bills. Things like the electricity and internet are often in one person's name. So that person can end up being responsible if others don't pay their share.

The best approach to preventing issues is to talk to your housemates at the start of the tenancy about how you're going to share the costs, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Host: Yeah. And I suppose rooming accommodation is another tenancy type that sometimes has similarities with share house living. How do those agreements work and what is the difference?

Guest: The big difference with rooming accommodation is that each resident will have their own rooming accommodation agreement with the property manager or provider, unlike share house arrangements, where multiple co-tenants are covered by one agreement for a property.

Residents will have their own room and share common rooms and facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms with other residents. And rooming accommodation includes boarding houses, supported accommodation services, and some types of student accommodation. It also includes properties where the owner or the occupier lives and rents out 4 or more rooms.

Host: Now, that last example there is interesting. So for example, if I was to rent a room in a house where the owner lives and they were renting out less than 4 rooms, how does that work?

Guest: So that may actually be a boarding or lodging arrangement or another exemption where you rent a room, but you're not considered a tenant or a resident under the Act.

Host: Right.

Guest: The owner is responsible for managing all aspects of a boarding or lodging arrangement, which is covered by common law rather than the Act.

Although none of the parties are covered under the Act, it's really important that everyone knows any bond monies paid must still be lodged with the RTA.

If you're renting out a granny flat or any other self-contained secondary dwelling instead of a room, that can be a bit different and the Act might apply. So the RTA has a guide to owners-occupiers renting out rooms that provides more information.

It is important to note that boarding is different to living in a boarding house, which is a type of rooming accommodation.

Host: Okay, so you've found the property, got the agreement sorted and moved in. What are some tips people can follow to help ensure a positive and respectful household, particularly with people you may not know well?

Guest: When living with other people, it's important to communicate living arrangement expectations as soon as possible to ensure a safe, respectful and happy environment.

If needed, tenants can draft their own written agreements outlining general house rules and responsibilities that everyone agrees to. And that can include rental obligations, shared bills, cleaning, shared amenities, guests and visitors, pets and children, communication and conflict resolution. If you're living in rooming accommodation, they will have house rules for you to refer to.

Host: There's some really good tips and they're good to know because there's nothing worse than getting into a tenancy like that and then it just goes bad. So what if you want to move out of a share house midway through the lease?

Guest: There's a couple of options for a general tenancy agreement, all of which need property manager or owner's permission. One is that the tenants can remove you from the current agreement and continue the tenancy without you. This needs to be agreed to in writing.

Alternatively, the tenants can find someone to replace you, providing that everyone agrees in writing to transfer your part of the tenancy to the new tenants. You'll also need to follow the process to change bond contributors, as we talked about earlier.

Host: Yeah, and you know, as I was alluding to, how about if there's an issue during the tenancy?

Guest: Tenancy issues typically occur when there's been a misunderstanding between parties due to miscommunication or when someone has not met the terms of their agreement. The RTA encourages people to try and self-resolve issues in the first instance, and we have a range of tips and resources on our website to help you prepare for any first difficult conversations.

Unfortunately, the RTA cannot help with disputes between tenants and residents. However, if a tenant and a property manager or owner have an issue that they can't resolve, our free dispute resolution service may be able to help.

Host: That's some very helpful information that we've run through today. Now, where can listeners go to find out more?

Guest: So listeners can contact us on 1300 366 311 for support or visit our website, which includes some great resources on your rental rights and responsibilities. And don't forget to also follow us on our Instagram channel @RTA Queensland.

Host: Well, thanks so much for joining us, Susan, and helping us understand what we need to know when it comes to renting with others.

Guest: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.